This post is for voting and discussion in the 140th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the last of three rounds of balloting adds to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1979. Rules and lists are after the jump.
The new group of 1979-born players, in order to join the eligible list, must, as usual, have played at least 10 seasons in the major leagues or generated at least 20 Wins Above Replacement (“WAR”, as calculated by baseball-reference.com, and for this purpose meaning 20 total WAR for everyday players and 20 pitching WAR for pitchers). This group of 1979-born candidates, comprising those with R-Z surnames, joins the eligible holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full list of players eligible to appear on your ballots.
In addition to voting for COG election among players on the main ballot, there will be also be voting for elevation to the main ballot among players on the secondary ballot. For the main ballot election, voters must select three and only three eligible players, with the one player appearing on the most ballots cast in the round inducted into the Circle of Greats. For the secondary ballot election, voters may select up to three eligible players, with the one player appearing on the most ballots cast elevated to the main ballot for the next COG election round. In the case of ties, a runoff election round will be held for COG election, while a tie-breaking process will be followed to determine the secondary ballot winner.
Players who fail to win either ballot but appear on half or more of the ballots that are cast win four added future rounds of ballot eligibility. Players who appear on 25% or more of the ballots cast, but less than 50%, earn two added future rounds of ballot eligibility. One additional round of eligibility is earned by any player who appears on at least 10% of the ballots cast or, for the main ballot only, any player finishing in the top 9 (including ties) in ballot appearances. Holdover candidates on the main ballot who exhaust their eligibility will drop to the secondary ballot for the next COG election round, as will first time main ballot candidates who attract one or more votes but do not earn additional main ballot eligibility. Secondary ballot candidates who exhaust their eligibility will drop from that ballot, but will become eligible for possible reinstatement in a future Redemption round election.
All voting for this round closes at 11:59 PM EST Sunday, February 25th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Friday, February 23rd.
If you’d like to follow the vote tally, and/or check to make sure I’ve recorded your vote correctly, you can see my ballot-counting spreadsheet for this round here: COG 1979 Part 3 Vote Tally. I’ll be updating the spreadsheet periodically with the latest votes. Initially, there is a row in the spreadsheet for every voter who has cast a ballot in any of the past rounds, but new voters are entirely welcome — new voters will be added to the spreadsheet as their ballots are submitted. Also in the spreadsheet is a column for each of the holdover candidates; additional player columns from the new born-in-1979 group will be added to the spreadsheet as votes are cast for them.
Choose your three players, for both the main and secondary ballots, from the lists below of eligible players. The current holdovers are listed in order of the number of future rounds (including this one) through which they are assured eligibility, and alphabetically when the future eligibility number is the same. The 1979 birth-year players are listed below in order of the number of seasons each played in the majors, and alphabetically among players with the same number of seasons played.
Holdovers:
| MAIN BALLOT | ELIGIBILITY | SECONDARY BALLOT | ELIGIBILITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Allen | 9 rounds | Billy Williams | 5 rounds |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 6 rounds | Bobby Abreu | 4 rounds |
| David Ortiz | 4 rounds | Ken Boyer | 4 rounds |
| Gary Sheffield | 3 rounds | Richie Ashburn | 2 rounds |
| Luis Tiant | 3 rounds | Stan Coveleski | 2 rounds |
| Bobby Wallace | 3 rounds | Andre Dawson | 2 rounds |
| Ted Lyons | 2 rounds | Don Drysdale | 2 rounds |
| Willie Randolph | 2 rounds | Andruw Jones | 2 rounds |
| Scott Rolen | 2 rounds | Monte Irvin | 2 rounds |
| Todd Helton | this round ONLY | Don Sutton | 2 rounds |
| Minnie Minoso | this round ONLY | Reggie Smith | this round ONLY |
| Ted Simmons | this round ONLY | ||
| Chase Utley | this round ONLY |
Everyday Players (born in 1979, R-Z surname, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Juan Uribe
Jayson Werth
Ramón Santiago
Carlos Ruiz
Josh Willingham
Kevin Youkilis
Pitchers (born in 1979, R-Z surname, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Rafael Soriano
Chris Young
Johan Santana
Wandy Rodríguez
Brad Ziegler
Juan Rincón
Brandon Webb
As is our custom, here are quiz questions for each of the new players on the ballot.
1. Juan Uribe played over 15 post-season games at both SS and 3B. Which other player has done the same? (Manny Machado)
2. Jayson Werth posted 1.361 OPS for the Phillies in the 2008 World Series. Which Phillie outfielder posted a higher OPS in a single World Series (min. 15 PA)? (Lenny Dykstra, 1993)
3. Ramón Santiago’s 59 OPS+ in 2003 is tied with several players for the lowest mark by a Tiger in a qualified season (modern definition). Which of those players recorded the lowest career OPS+ among All-Stars with 5000+ PA careers? (Ed Brinkman)
4. Carlos Ruiz teamed with Cole Hamels to form the most durable battery in Phillies history, with 207 regular season starts together. Whose franchise record did Ruiz and Hamels break? (Pete Alexander/Bill Killefer, 191 starts)
5. Josh Willingham recorded 5 qualified seasons in his career, all of them with 20 HR, 25 doubles, 50 walks and 10 HBP, and is the only player to post such seasons for four different franchises. Which player recorded the most such seasons in a career? (Carlos Delgado, 1998-2007)
6. Kevin Youkilis recorded consecutive 400+ PA seasons (2009-10) slashing .300/.400/.500 for Boston. Which player recorded the longest streak of such seasons by a Red Sox first baseman? (Mo Vaughn, 1996-98)
7. Rafael Soriano is one of seven pitchers to record a 40 save season for three different franchises. Who was the first pitcher to do this? (Jeff Reardon, 1991)
8. Chris Young is one of eight Padre pitchers to record consecutive seasons with 30 starts and 3 WAR. Which two of those pitchers accomplished this feat in the same seasons? (Bruce Hurst/Ed Whitson, 1989-90)
9. Johan Santana is the only pitcher with three consecutive seasons (2004-06) leading his league in WHIP, ERA+ and SO/9. Which pitcher recorded the most seasons leading his league in all three of those categories? (Pedro Martinez, 5 seasons)
10. Brad Ziegler is the only pitcher with top 10 career ranks in ERA, ERA+ and HR/9, among retired relievers with 500+ game careers. Ziegler’s 390 ERA+ in 2008 is the best in any 50+ IP debut season. Which pitcher has the top ERA+ in a 50+ IP rookie season? (Rob Murphy, 1986)
11. Wandy Rodríguez recorded a 37 point improvement in his ERA+ from his first three seasons to his next three campaigns, the fourth largest such increase among starting pitchers with 300+ IP in both periods and with ERA+ under 90 in the first. Which of those pitchers recorded the largest such ERA+ improvement? (Jake Arrieta, 73 points)
12. Juan Rincón recorded four straight 70+ IP seasons (2003-06) for Minnesota. Which pitcher recorded the only longer streak of such seasons by a Twins reliever? (Al Worthington, 1964-68)
13. Brandon Webb posted a qualified 125 ERA+ in each of his first six seasons. Which other modern era pitcher did the same? (Mordecai Brown, 1903-10)
And, a couple of unanswered quiz questions from last week’s post.
14. Dan Johnson posted 7 consecutive seasons (2008-15) of 40 or fewer games, playing first base in all of them. Which player has the only longer streak of such seasons? (Russ Morman, 8 consecutive seasons 1988-91, 1994-97)
15. Jon Garland was a CG winner in his first post-season game, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Who is the last pitcher to allow more than 2 runs in a CG win in his post-season debut? (Gaylord Perry, 1971 NLCS)
